Metro Sports Report

Strait top Metro player on INA all-state teams

Cedar Rapids Kennedy senior Courtney Strait was honored as a first-team selection on the Iowa Newspaper Association all-state basketball team Tuesday.

Strait, a 5-foot-9 guard, led Class 4A in scoring this season at 20.7 points per game.

Danielle Franklin of Cedar Rapids Washington was a second-team pick on the Class 4A all-state team. Madison Dellamuth of Cedar Rapids Prairie and Emily Walvoord of Xavier were third-team selections in Class 4A. Dani Peyton of Marion was a third-team choice in Class 3A.

Jessie Pauley of Ida Grove OA-BCIG, a Class 2A school, was named Miss Basketball.

Strait was joined on the Class 4A first team by Leti Lerma of Muscatine, Krista Pettepier of Ankeny, Mckenzier Piper of Iowa City West, Jadda Buckley of Mason City, Caitlin Ingle of Southeast Polk, Ally Disterhoft of Iowa City West and Maddie Manning of Ankeny.

You can view the entire INA all-state teams at www.iowaprepsports.com.

Koolbeck has nose for news and hoops

Maddie Koolbeck has not written a story about herself yet, but maybe she should.

Koolbeck was the leading scorer on the Cedar Rapids Jefferson basketball team this season and was a unanimous selection on the all-Metro and all-Mississippi Valley Conference squads, one of only four girls who were unanimous picks on both clubs.

She ranks No. 1 academically in her junior class with a straight-A average, serves as co-editor of the school newspaper, plays on the Jefferson softball team and somehow finds time to work on service projects in the community.

Maybe she's too busy to write about herself. More accurately, she's too modest. And needless to say, time management is a crucial part of her success.

New gym on the drawing board at CVC

After their first season of basketball competition against schools from the Iowa athletic associations, the Cedar Valley Christian boys and girls teams found out they could hold their own on the court.

They also found out their court itself couldn’t hold enough fans. And it isn’t big enough.

As a result, planning is underway to build a new gym at the small private Christian school in southeast Cedar Rapids.

School principal and boys basketball coach Jeff Pospisil said fund raising will begin soon for a proposed $2 million facility.

The hope is to have it built before next season.

Sweeney enjoys big day for Red Sox

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Before Saturday's game against Northeastern University, Boston Red Sox Manager Bobby Valentine described Ryan Sweeney as a hitter who is still trying to find himself, from a mechanical standpoint.

Pehaps the work he has done this spring with hitting coach Dava Magadan will pay off sooner than expected.

While college pitching isn't the best gauge for a hitter's progress, Sweeney did take some fine cuts amid a 4-for-5 performance that included a double, homer and five RBIs.

"I've sat down with the hitting coach and talked about my swing, and I'm just trying to get back to some of the stuff I've been doing in '08 and '09 as far as rhythm at the plate," said Sweeney.